Elon Musk may be in danger of missing his Tesla Model 3 production goals yet again.

The billionaire warned Tesla employees that ‘radical improvements’ are needed if the company is to hit its production targets.

Musk made the warning in a company-wide email sent out late on Friday night in which he said he will be at 'Fremont factory almost 24/7 for the next several days.'

His aim is to hit a Model 3 production rate of 5,000 vehicles a week.

Tesla originally planned to hit that target by the end of 2017.

The six month delay in reaching its goal has hurt the company stock price, frustrated early customers, and spurred a plot among some investors to oust Elon Musk as chairman.

Musk has said Tesla is currently building ‘above 500’ vehicles a day – about 200 vehicles fewer than is needed to hit its production target.

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Elon Musk may be in danger of missing his Tesla Model 3 production goals yet again. Musk tweeted a photograph of an entirely 'new general assembly line in 3 weeks with minimal resources' which will be used to ramp up production of the all-electric vehicle

In his email to employees, Musk highlighted parts in the production line that need ‘radical improvements’ before the company can meet its production goal, including ‘paint shop output’, general assembly, and end of line.

Those struggling areas will have ‘as many resources as they can handle’, Musk has promised.

Musk also shared an image on social media of a new 'general assembly line' built by the teams at the Fremont Factory in California with 'minimal resources'.

The new assembly line was used to produce the first dual motor Model 3, which can speed from 0 to 60mph in 3.5 seconds.

The performance-orientated skew of the Tesla Model 3 sits at the top of the line with a $78,000 (£58,900) price tag.

For that, drivers will get 20-inch wheels, a carbon fibre spoiler, 155mph (249kph) top speed, and 310 (498 kilometres) miles of range before the battery dies.

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The all-electric automaker’s inability to meet its production goals for its first mass-market sedan has caused frustration among investors, with some submitting a proposal to remove Musk from his role as chairman of Tesla's board.

The ploy, which was initiated by Jing Zhao, a shareholder who believes Musk may be 'spread too thin', was voted down at the annual shareholders meeting earlier this month.

Following the vote, Musk — whose voice appeared to quiver - said the company has experienced 'the most excruciating hellish several months that we've ever had.'

'But I think we're getting there,' he added.

WHAT DOES ELON MUSK’S EMAIL TO TESLA STAFF SAY?

Tesla Chairman and CEO Elon Musk has sent a company-wide email praising the work of those on the Model 3 production line, as the company tries to meet its 5,000 vehicle-a-day goal.

Tesla had originally hoped to hit that target by the end of 2017 – and the six month delay in getting there has hurt the company stock price, as well as frustrated early customers.

Musk has confirmed that Tesla is now reliably building ‘above 500’ vehicles a day – about 200 vehicles fewer than is needed to hit its target.

In his email to employees, Elon Musk has also highlighted parts in the production line that need ‘radical improvements’ before the company can meet the Model 3 production goal, including the ‘paint shop output’, general assembly (GA), and end of line (EoL).

Here’s the internal company email in full —

From: Elon Musk

To: Everybody

Subj: Only 8 days left to reach 700 cars/day or 5k/week

June 15, 2018

8:27 pm

It's getting very exciting! All parts of the Model 3 production system are now above 500 and some are almost at 700 cars already. Congratulations to all on making so much progress!

That said, radical improvements are still needed in paint shop output, GA3, bringing up the new GA4, End of Line and Module Zone 4 at Giga. We also need to achieve sustained, 700+ per week on the body line.

Wherever you are in the company, if you feel you can help out in any of those areas, please check in with Jat Dhillon on GA3, Jerome Guillen on GA4 and Omead on EoL and JB Straubel or Christ Lister on Module Zone 4.

I will be at our Fremont factory almost 24/7 for the next several days checking in with those groups to make sure they have as many resources as they can handle.

Thanks,

Elon

Following the annual shareholders meeting, Musk bought 72,000 shares in Tesla, forking out $25 million in the process.

The purchase appears to have helped increase Tesla’s share price, which rose from $322.99 (£243.99) on June 12, to $358.17 (£270.56) by a week later, June 18.

The CEO also cut nine per cent of the Tesla workforce in the wake of the shareholders meeting.

The move, which saw some 3,000 people lose their jobs at the company, was part of a 'difficult, but necessary' reorganisation at the automaker, Elon Musk confirmed.

Elon Musk, who also runs SpaceX and The Boring Company, rebuffed an attempt to strip him of his role as Tesla chairman during a vote at the annual shareholders meeting this month

In a tweet, Elon Musk confirmed the majority of the layoffs came from the salaried population and 'no production associates were included,’ so it should have no impact on the Model 3 production.

Around half a million people have paid the $1,000 (£755) reservation fee for a Tesla Model 3 since the vehicle was unveiled two years ago.

In May, the car became the best-selling mid-sized premium sedan in the United States.

The company has plans to expand the Model 3 options available to customers later this year.

Half a million people have paid the $1,000 (£755) reservation fee for a Tesla Model 3 since the all-electric vehicle was unveiled two years ago

Customers can use a companion app on their smartphone to lock and unlock the vehicle, as well as check the battery life and remaining charge time

In May, the Tesla Model 3 became the best-selling mid-sized premium sedan in the United States, Elon Musk announced at the annual shareholders meeting

By the end of 2018, Musk has pledged to start production of the $35,000 (£26,000) entry-level version of the Tesla Model 3.

This will be rear-wheel drive only and sport a smaller battery pack than other models in the range.

Musk told shareholders at the June meeting: 'We will definitely offer a $35,000 version of the Model 3. And probably at the end of this year is when we will be able to make a smaller version of the battery pack, and get into volume production of $35,000 version in Q1 next year.

'We would definitely honour that obligation, and we would do so right now if it were possible.'

Tesla will also begin production of a right-hand drive model of the Model 3 in 2019.

Musk did not reveal when customer deliveries of that model would begin.

WHAT IF TESLA MISSES ITS MODEL 3 PRODUCTION GOAL?

Tesla's released its new Model 3 electric car in July 2017 with a batch of 30 vehicles sold exclusively to members of staff.

The affordable £27,000 ($35,000) five-seat vehicle travels 215 miles (346km) on a single charge and accelerates from zero to 60mph (0-100kmh) in under six seconds.

Although the eco-friendly car is one of Tesla's more affordable models, those looking to buy the vehicle may be waiting months before they can get behind the wheel.

Tesla had struggled to meet the impressive demand for its vehicle, with a reported 500,000 pre-orders put in so far.

Tesla has repeatedly missed production goals for Model 3, meaning those who have put down a £712 ($1,000) deposit for one of the vehicles may still have to wait until the end of 2018 to get their hands on it.

Tesla missed its production goal for 2017's third quarter, producing only 260 vehicles compared to an earlier estimate of 1,500.

As a result, the company's shares fell 5.4 per cent in after hours trading on November 1.

Tesla said it delivered 26,150 vehicles total in the third quarter, a 4.5 per cent rise on the same period of 2016.

But the company added that 'production bottlenecks' had left it behind on its planned ramp-up for the Model 3.

In November 2017, it said it hoped to achieve a production rate of 5,000 per month by the end of the first quarter of 2018, pushing back what was originally a target for the end of 2017.

In June 2018, Elon Musk said it is 'extremely likely' Tesla will hit a weekly Model 3 production rate of 5,000 cars.

He added said the electric car maker will soon produce more batteries at its Nevada Gigafactory than all other electric vehicle companies combined, including those in China.